Hypothyroid menopause frustrsted

DSW52

If anyone else out there over 50, have thyroid and menopause issues. I am so overwhelmed with to Do keto, don’t do keto, your body needs carbs, walk 10,000 steps, do this, do that. well I did a 10 day body reset I eat superclean walked 10 to 20,000 steps a day Inc. resistance training and didn’t lose a pound. Every time I step on the scale it goes up frustrated beyond belief. Trying to keep everything in perspective. Everyone tells me I look great but I’m 5’5 155 pounds and too much for me to carry in my body😰😰😰

cmriverside

I am both. Well, I'm post menopause but I lost my weight (70+ pounds) just at the tail end of menopause for me.

First, you are not that far outside a healthy weight, so weight loss is going to be slow. Set your Goals to "Lose 1/2 pound per week."

Log all your food. Every day, regardless of what or how much you eat.

I take a walk at least once per day, even if it's only for 15 minutes. It helps with hunger, weight loss, sleep and mood. Big win.


Then, patience. Hypothyroid does not affect your calories in and out significantly. If you are stable with your Levo dose, then your energy should be good enough and your sleep will be good enough. Both very important.

I feel for you. Menopause is not for the weak, but it doesn't have to derail you.

Simpleman_67

I'm 52, Hypothyroidism for about 10yrs now. Desk job, I need to watch everything I eat. I let myself slack last month and gained 5lbs. Any calculation that says you should burn X amount of calories per day, I subtract another 200 calories to that estimate. This pic, 172lbs , 5'7".
To 145lbs this past June. I'm at 150lbs again

AnnPT77

I'm 5'5", severely hypothyroid (but treated), now age 63, went into hard-stop menopause at age 44 when I started 6 months of chemotherapy for stage III breast cancer (then took anti-estrogen drugs for another 7.5 years just to add to the fun).

It sounds like you've heard all the popular theories and tried them, finding that none of them really went well. The good news, IMO, is that although this weight loss thing isn't always easy, it has the potential to be less complicated than all the books and blogs and instagrammers and weight loss programs might lead us to believe. And age, menopause, hypothyroidism, etc., aren't universal weight loss doom.

I came to MFP in July 2015, age 59, at about the weight you are now (I was at 153 pounds IIRC), but I had started at 183 pounds in April 2015. I'd been obese for literally decades. I've been maintaining a healthy weight since late 2015, nowadays mostly in the mid-130s.

I found the basic MFP process very do-able: I ate foods I enjoy, logged them, tried to hit my moderate calorie goal the overwhelming majority of days, did fun activities (but didn't ramp up my intentional-exercise level much because I was already pretty active while obese), and gradually worked toward improving my nutrition. I tried to think in terms of only making changes I was pretty sure I could sustain for the rest of my life, to stay at a healthy weight. I tried to find ways to balance calorie needs, nutrition, tastiness, practicality, social connection through food, etc.: All of that is pretty personal and individual, different for everyone when it comes to details.

Like I said, not always easy . . . but pretty simple.

MFP provides a calorie goal. It intends us to eat that many calories daily, plus a reasonable estimate of exercise calories in addition. If we do that reasonably faithfully for 4-6 weeks, we get a good handle on whether that estimate is accurate for us personally (it's just a statistical estimate, after all: It'll be close for most people, off for a few, and way off for a very, very few). That time period is enough for initial water weight weirdness to average out, and give us the data we need to adjust intake to lose weight at a sensible level. It's kind of like a fun science-fair project for grown-ups!

At your current weight, one pound a week might be an OK target to start with, but eventually as you get closer to goal, you'll want to slow it to 0.5 pounds a week.

This post has a great run-down of how to use MFP in general:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

In case it might help you, this post describes the approach I used to gradually remodel my eating, while still enjoying it and staying satiated, along the way:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

You can do this, if you decide you will: Best wishes! :flowerforyou:

cmriverside

Any calculation that says you should burn X amount of calories per day, I subtract another 200 calories to that estimate

@Simpleman_67, I disagreed with your post because of the above. It has been shown that at the most hypo can account for a 5% decrease in calorie needs. Maybe 200 calories is 5% for you, that may be true, but I have been under treatment for hypo for 30 years, including during menopause (which I'm pretty sure you didn't have to do ) and I actually eat 300-500 calories MORE than every calculator says I should be eating. I've been doing that for the whole 12 years of my Maintenance at 21-22 BMI.

It's an experiment the OP will have to run, but it isn't a fact that every hypo sufferer is going to have to restrict their calories.

cmriverside

...and I know that @AnnPT77 is another one who eats above the calculated rate. I'm not a one-off.

AnnPT77

cmriverside wrote: »

...and I know that @AnnPT77 is another one who eats above the calculated rate. I'm not a one-off.

I do. Several hundred calories worth, for 4+ years now. And it's not accounted for by activity level. This will not happen for most people, hypothyroid or otherwise, but it will happen for some.

That's the nature of good statistical estimates, like MFP's, or a TDEE calculator's: Close for most; a little off in either direction for some; way of for a very few.

Even if hypothyroid, everyone's best bet is to start with a research-based estimate, from MFP or a respected TDEE calculator, monitor for 4-6 weeks, then adjust. If someone starts feeling weak or fatigued (for otherwise unexplained reasons) along the way, while seeming to lose very rapidly at first, s/he should eat a little more. (Losing too slowly can be frustrating. Losing too fast can be a health risk.)

Starting with another person's calorie experience just means increased likelihood of starting at the wrong estimate, for purely probabilistic reasons.

DSW52

Thanks everyone. I am seeing a friend who is a nutritionist so will see How it goes I’m generally not that good with this app as far as posting stuff so will try to post more regularly thanks for all the information very helpful

Simpleman_67

cmriverside wrote: »

Any calculation that says you should burn X amount of calories per day, I subtract another 200 calories to that estimate

@Simpleman_67, I disagreed with your post because of the above. It has been shown that at the most hypo can account for a 5% decrease in calorie needs. Maybe 200 calories is 5% for you, that may be true, but I have been under treatment for hypo for 30 years, including during menopause (which I'm pretty sure you didn't have to do ) and I actually eat 300-500 calories MORE than every calculator says I should be eating. I've been doing that for the whole 12 years of my Maintenance at 21-22 BMI.

It's an experiment the OP will have to run, but it isn't a fact that every hypo sufferer is going to have to restrict their calories.

It's ok to disagree, the -200 is what I did for me. Everyone is different. The results show in my pic.